Just over a year ago the Ulster Grasshoppers graced the Groot Drak grounds and left with the heady mix of a one sided victory, full bellies, fines-meeting-laugh-lines and a promise to return. Who knew that the promise would be fulfilled so soon and it was with great pleasure that the fixture was booked in for Saturday the 25th January 2025.

The day dawned a beautiful winelands scorcher and the touring side was warned to apply buckets of sun cream and keep hydrated for what was set to be a great day of cricket. As Groot Drak tradition stipulates, the visitors were relieved of having to field in the 38 degree sun and were sent in to bat with opening bowlers Mr Matt Hughes (2/53 from 8) and Craig McNaught (0/20 from 7) looking amped to fire up their engines and make the most of a track that looked true and consistent. It was evident from ball one that Matt Hughes was keen to bend his back and he swung it both ways and moved it off the seam to put the openers under pressure early on. He was unlucky to not raise the umpires digit for an edge that was reportedly heard back in Belfast but fought back nicely to end his first spell having taken 2 great wickets. Similarly Craig focused on line and length and bowled some wicket to wicket overs to keep the Ulster men feeling a bit of scoreboard pressure.

The top 3 Ulster batsmen all showed signs of getting in and bedding down and hit some lovely strokes before being dismissed mid teens much to the relief of the Groot Drak team. Special note goes to Mark Rist for his bootlace high catch at square leg with resultant celebrations reminiscent of premier league football goals.

After the opening spell, the ball was handed over to Albert van T(i)onder and Jaco Swarts (aka Louis) who both bowled very economically and put the batsman under pressure despite Neil Gill (98 from 108) from the Grasshoppers starting to show that he was getting his eye in nicely and runs were starting to flow a touch more freely. Alan Sherratt (1/59 from 8) came in to the attack with Bruce Taylor (2/29 from 4) later from the other end in a plan to crack the middle order and get some valuable wickets. Bruce’s airborne attack proved to be too tempting for some of the Ulster men and 2 early wickets fell in Bruce’s spell amongst cries of “I cant foo$$in believe it,” and “that’s a right sh1te”. Alan kept it tidy for the first 5 overs with a few chances going begging before Neil Gill started seeing it true and lofted Alan around the park. Ultimately the plan worked and Neil popped one to Jaco Swarts to be dismissed after a great innings.

Craig and Matt returned for another great spell and all in all the Ulster Grasshoppers posted a healthy 216 off their allotted 40 overs before heading to the pool and for a rejuvenating lunch.

Again, as tradition dictates – the Ulster team saluted the Groot Drak flag and downed a shot of sun warmed brandy to even the playing fields of not having to spend the hottest time of the day in the field before heading out to defend what everyone thought was a fair total on a track that was starting to slide on a touch. The Groot Drak openers in Mark Rist (8 from 14) and Pat Lawson (3 from 10) were padded up and keen to get stuck in.

It was evident early on that the average age of the Ulster side was a lot less than Groot Drak and this was going to probably shine through in some seam bowling. Both the Ulster openers had good first spells and moved the ball nicely both in the air and off the deck. It was with some twisted irony that both Pat and Mark were given out LBW by their own team umpires after the skipper having discussed with the travelling umpires that LBW’s should be a rarity. Enter Mr Hughes (39 from 46) who looked solid from the get go and worked the ball around the ground. He unfortunately wasn’t well supported by a flurry of wickets in Jaco Swarts (uncharacteristically 0) and Jono Boulton (2) leaving Christiaan Ritter (44 from 54) to head to the crease with only 37 on the board. Despite not feeling 100% and sporting a tweaked hamstring, Christiaan and Mr Hughes set about steadily adding some runs to get the home side to 95 from 17 overs before Mr Hughes was caught out. Enter Craig McNaught (0 from 2) who was looking forward to an unusual amount of overs to spare and a heap of runs to be made when he heads in but unfortunately it was not a day to avoid the duck helmet for Mr McNaught. With 122 runs still to be made and half time drinks not yet served, skipper Alan headed in to join Christiaan at the crease and attempt to avoid another one sided victory for the Irish.

Alan and Christiaan pushed the ball around where possible and tried to dispatch anything loose to edge the home side closer to a respectful chase. It was a pleasure for all to watch Christiaan open his shoulders every now and again and he definitely played a “lifesavers” innings before being caught dead in front in the 27th over with Groot Drak sitting on 135/7. Bruce Taylor (0 from 1) looked amped to be in the middle however didn’t last long and Albert Van Tonder (18 from 25) joined Alan in a precarious 135/8 with 13 overs to play and 82 to get.

Albert showed some true grit and a steady head and rotated the strike nicely allowing Alan to make the most of having been in for a while the pair accelerated slightly, ran hard and slowly clawed back to a position of perhaps winning despite only 2 wickets in hand. Alan was eventually dismissed in the 37th over having posted 62 from 63 and it was left to Zak Barnard and Albert to make the final 11 runs in 3 overs.

The whole 31 strong touring side, the home team and supporters and even the ground staff were glued to the action and despite some good tail end bowling, Zak and Albert managed to take the home team over the line with Zak scoring 7 from 6 balls and Groot Drak realising a hard fought victory. As Neil Watson, the Ulster Grasshoppers Tour Operator and former Groot Drak skipper commented, “all 3 possible results were on the cards today.” What more can one ask from a game of cricket with nearly every player contributing in some way and the result coming down to the wire.

Pitch drinks were followed by a great fines session as we watched the setting Boland sun against a beautiful mountain backdrop before heading inside for some lamb on the spit, some Stony Brook wine and shared laughs amongst all who witnessed the cricket that day.

Thanks to the Ulster Grasshoppers for traveling, all those involved in ground prep, tour prep and catering organization and most of all to all the players who exuded the spirit of friendly cricket and no doubt created some memories to last a lifetime.

Lifesaver: Christiaan Ritter
Man of the Match: Alan Sherratt

The last game of the year is always a special one for the Groot Drak team – not only because its a time to remember Alfie Cupido but also due to the competition being in the form of the ever talented WPCC side. This year was certainly no different with the visiting team sporting some fresh members that were all young and highly competent cricketers currently playing at various impressive levels. Led by the experience of their skipper Louis Koen – the stage was set for a great game. WPCC won the toss and elected to bat – a great move in the post rain heat that had presented itself on that fine Sunday.

Groot Drak welcomed back Mr Hughes (0/19 from 3) who chose to start running up the hill and quickly found his ever consistent rhythm. Craig McNaught (0/18 from 4) continued on his current form from the other side and the 2 openers cameoed beautifully with a few nearly finding the edges of the opening WPCC pair. C. Pratt (46 from 37 balls) looked dangerous from the word go and anything straying outside the line or too short was quickly dispatched.

Conrad Schultz (2/42 from 7) was first change and picked up an early breakthrough wicket in his second over before powering through his allotted 7 overs on the trot whilst getting another great wicket and being very economical in all but his final over. Alan Sherratt (3/17 from 7) bowled in tandem with Conrad and the two of them managed to strangle the middle order whilst Alan picked up 3 wickets to effectively get a bit deeper towards the visitors tail.

Seeing the effectiveness of spin, the skipper opted for the seasoned off spin twins of Jaco Swarts (4/17 off 6.2) and Angus Simmers (1/12 off 4) to further tighten the screws on the batting side. In amongst all of this the fielding side managed to hold onto every opportunity given which is unusual in friendly cricket. None of the other batsmen managed to get above 20 despite a few looking like they were about to get going and WPCC were all out for 123 with a few over left to bowl.

After a short break, lunch and a quick dip in the pool for some – Quintin VD Westhuizen (62 from 58 not out) and Jaco Swarts (14 from 15) strode out to take on the WPCC attack comprising a young and wily spinner in the form of JR (1/18 from 7) together with the Dutch international in the form of Mikkie. On Jakes dismissal – Rikus Walters (3 from 23) looked in promising form before being dismissed LBW and Conrad Schultz (28 from 23 not out) joined Quinny to hunt down the final few runs and make sure fines started early and all could make it home to watch the Blitz Bokke in the final.

All in all Groot Drak managed to clinch this one in a comprehensive 8 wicket victory which doesn’t really show how the game could have swung in WPCC favour at any stage.

Both teams gathered on the pitch post match in a time honored tradition to show gratitude to the oldest turf wicket in SA and to say a few fond words remembering our late skipper Alfie. A few cold orange juices were then consumed during fines and some humorous moments recalled as the two sides watched the afternoon light settle in over the Drakenstein Valley.

We would like to thank Louis and his team for the spirit in which the game was played and to all that were involved to make this a memorable fixture.

Man of the match: Alan Sherratt

With the promises of a cut-off low storm hitting that evening – we were warmly welcomed to the Scorpions home ground on a mild Saturday morning. After the Drakkies and half the Scorpions introduced themselves to the other half of the new members at Scorpions, the toss was made and the home team skipper, Gav opted to bowl on a wicket freshly prepared by the Greek Goddess Antheia.

It was great to see the opening pair of Jaco Swarts and Marko Combrink stride out to the middle to face the opening attack from Maze and Graham. It was quickly evident that trusting the bounce on the pitch was going to be impossible and both Jaco and Marko tried to bed down against the openers before Jaco was caught behind by a ball that both seamed and popped. Conrad Schultz entered the fray and was by far the pick of the batsmen for Drakkies on the day. He seemed to catch onto the speed of the pitch quite quickly and scored an impressive 45. Along the way he was joined by new member Christiaan Ritter who looked in great form before being caught for 23 as he got into the swing of it.

Alan, Craig, Morne, Albert and William didn’t contribute much whilst Wessel put on a strong 17 and Liam was not out 19 with Drakkies posting a low 132 all out. It was definitely not a 200 pitch and feelings at the lunch break was 150 would have been defendable.

The Groot Drak side knew they had to bowl tight and field well to make a game of this one and opening bowlers Liam (0/12 off 7) and Conrad (1/28 off 7) certainly did this. Liam was very unlucky not to get a few wickets as he beat the batters at least twice an over.

Pat Lawson (20) and Jacques (47 N/O) stuck around with Pat ultimately falling to the bowling of Conrad which brought Dave Bakker to the field which we knew was a big wicket to get. Craig McNaught was introduced to the attack and bowled a steady spell of 0/22 off 4.

Halftime drinks heralded the score being only 57-1 with both a lot of batting and a lot of bowling to do but it gave a hint that the game was shaping up to be a tight one.

Dave was dismissed shortly after drinks by great bowling from Christaan (2/21 from 7) and Mario Solomons shortly after that. With 10 overs to go Scorpions were 92-3 and the game was on.

Alan Sherratt (1/32 from 7) and Albert van Tonder (0/14 from 4) took over the bowling duties and it all came down to the last over where a drop catch and a risky hit over the top meant the Scorpions reached their required 133 with 3 balls to go.

The spirit of the game and drinks and boeries rolls afterwards only added to what had been an amazing day of cricket and we would like to thank the Scorpions for hosting us on a tricky but amazing fixture. It is an honour to play alongside like minded cricketers and this game is a testament to the ethos of friendly cricket.

Scorpions – we will see you on the return leg.

Man of the match was given to Liam and Jacques whilst Craig and William shared the duck hat.